My dad's father was a White Star Line trumpet player in the '20s. It shaped the way that I think about music. My grandfather was classically trained, military trained. He was an orphan who ended up in the Military School of Music in Kneller Hall.
I'm trained as an actor for the stage - classically trained, believe it or not - and I worked closely with Stella Adler for years. People don't know that much about it. They just think I am these people. But I've been in this comedy racket, because it's just how everybody wants to see me.
I knew from a young age that I could sing and it was impressed upon me that if I got a classically trained education in voice, it would serve as a foundation for whatever I chose to do.
I was born and raised in Germany, so I was classically trained. Classical has been deep in me from a totally early age. Then, as a teenager, I picked up the guitar and was really into rock music.
I think, even when I was little, there was signs that I was an artist. I've always been an artist. My first exploration through art was really through music - I've trained classically with piano for about ten years.
Sometimes people get really sniffy about the films you choose if you've done more dramatic projects or you're classically trained.
I think that people have been claiming hip-hop as being dead since the moment it started. I think there are people - and I can be included in that category sometimes - that get frustrated feeling like maybe the industry has handcuffed itself, or trained its artists to do or think about music in a way that classically hasn't led to the greatest records in hip-hop.
I wasn't classically trained as an actor; I wasn't pursuing standup comedy. I really came into it through the back door. And there was a benefit to that, I think, because I wasn't pressing; I wasn't pushing.
I play the piano, but I'm not classically trained.
My first exploration through art was really through music - I've trained classically with piano for about ten years.
I am classically trained in piano, flute, and voice.
I'm not a classically trained composer, and I can't sing very well.
I'm not classically trained or anything, but I'll rip up a dance floor.
I'm not classically trained, but I am flawed in a very fantastic way!
I'm not the pedigree kid. I'm not classically trained. I didn't come from the fancy home, no.
As a filmmaker I find it much more rewarding to work with actors who are classically trained. It's about the work and only the work.